I'm looking for a website or of a diary of bombed towns in lancashire, manchester, liverpool etc ( the north west of UK) ive found one for the north east and also seen the link for the RAF crashed sites in the north west. any help would be nice cheers...
well, I've this on order, and if you can wait a week or so, I'll let you know whether it has the info you want (p.s. remind me in about a 10 days) http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DEFENCE-OF-THE-UNITED-KINGDOM-Official-Campaign_W0QQitemZ8422230453QQihZ021QQcategoryZ64296QQcmdZViewItem
I'm looking for a website or of a diary of bombed towns in lancashire, manchester, liverpool etc ( the north west of UK) ive found one for the north east and also seen the link for the RAF crashed sites in the north west. any help would be nice cheers... I can compile a comprehensive list of bombed Lancashire towns from memory (starting off with my hometown of Burnley) which can be augmented with other references. A great online reference is: THE LANCASHIRE AIRCRAFT INVESTIGATION TEAM SITE http://web.ukonline.co.uk/lait/site/index.htm As I mentioned in another thread, I visited some of these sites (I was in Blackpool on holiday when the mid-air over Central Station occurred) right after the crashes -- the Lockheed lightning crash at Cliviger http://web.ukonline.co.uk/lait/site/P-38%2041-7669.htm, the Liberator crash at Black Hameldon and the V1 Flying Bomb impact at Gregson Lane. Visit my Website http://jp29.org/2dr.htm for more information on Lancashire air raids. James
thanks James some great links. im from wigan and although i'm told that Wigan wasnt hit during the war but my nan says the lufftwafe flew over Wigan many times looking for the royal ordnance in wigan and chorley. but my nan was only 8 at the time the bombers overhead could have been ours from burtonwood or blackpool. do you know if any other areas around wigan such as chorley,st helens warrington etc were hit. cheers
What precisely do you want? Initially just the Luftwaffe hits and bomb sites, or do oyu want crash sites as well? Just for Lancashire or are you interested in the Manchester, cheshire, North Wales, Derbyshire areas as well?
What precisely do you want? Initially just the Luftwaffe hits and bomb sites, or do oyu want crash sites as well? Just for Lancashire or are you interested in the Manchester, cheshire, North Wales, Derbyshire areas as well? all of that aswell kitty if possible...i'm not fussy. ive got the link from james regards the crash sites of lancashire. but all north west regions would be good
Okay lad, there's a series of 3 books out called Peakland Aircrashes. The South, The Midlands and The North. From the Landmark Collector's Library, author is Pat Cunningham. Very good, cover aircrashes from pre WW2 to recent. Not comprehensive for WW2 as I kow of a few he has missed inteh South book, but very good as well.
Following are modified extracts from my Web site http://jp29.org/2dr.htm that provide information on the two WW2 aircraft crashes that occurred near Burnley and that I went to right after they happened: An aircaft crash occured in the Burnley area in mid-war. In the late morning of 1 September 1942, an American P38 (Lockheed Lightning) fighter, which was was part of a flight of several on a training exercise, crashed in the woods near Cliviger. My best friend and I got to the crash location in time to retrieve a few souvenirs before the police arrived to cordon it off. The above crash is chronicled at: http://web.ukonline.co.uk/lait/site/P-38%2041-7669.htm Another crash occurred in the Burnley area toward the end of the war. In the late afternoon of Monday, 19 February, 1945 an American B24 Liberator bomber crashed on the moors just outside Burnley (Black Hameldon). I went to the scene not long after the crash when the wreckage was still smoldering. The above crash is chronicled at: http://web.ukonline.co.uk/lait/site/B-24%2042-50668.htm James
cheers james...great site. the aspull find was well documented in the local paper last year.. burnley was a little unluckey during the war... what do you know about the fake village near burnley...where they built dummy houses and lit fires at night to fool the Luftwaffe.. i believe it was on some hill . cheers
I know Blackburn was heavily bombed. I can't recall any details its all a little hazy but I do remember the words from a song that related to it. Something along the lines of............"10,000 holes in Blackburn Lancashire" I'll get my coat.
.......... what do you know about the fake village near burnley...where they built dummy houses and lit fires at night to fool the Luftwaffe.. i believe it was on some hill . cheers Thanks, RAF. I think this is what you are asking about: Burnley was involved in a decoy/subterfuge scheme in WW2 as were other locations in Great Britain. The Government literally created "Manchester on the Moors" -- the idea was to build a fake or simulated industrial complex in a remote area, but in close proximity to Manchester and on the Luftwaffe bombing run approach (which Burnley was) thereby enticing the bombardiers to drop their load there. A large expanse of desolate moor land to the south of Burnley, in the vicinity of Crown Point, was set aside -- cordoned off and guarded 24 hours a day -- and a good sized mock industrial complex of plywood structures erected. Each of these mockups contained a single electric light bulb and enough discreet chinks were provided to wink an attractive target from the air at night. I believe this elaborate decoy was erected and activated sometime in early 1940. The construction, maintenance and guarding was accomplished by a detachment of RAF all of whom were from Ulster, Northern Ireland, who were voluntarily billeted with local residents living on the southern fringes of Burnley. My auntie Clara and uncle Jim Howarth housed two of them in their home on the southern fringe of Burnley not far below Crown Point (the government provided special ration allowances -- but that was all) -- A/C Billy Russell and A/C Sidney Watters. They were fine men and became good friends of the family -- including me. Both Billy and Sidney maintained contact with us after the war. I used to hike the moors in that vicinity quite frequently. You could go right up to the barbed wire fence surrounding the facility where you were turned back by patrolling sentries. You weren't supposed to linger around as the project was hushed up, but I knew most of the RAF guys and so I used to talk to them to pass the time -- it was lonely duty walking guard on the moors! You couldn't see any of the decoy buildings or equipment from the fence as the decoy area was over a rise. I don't think the Crown Point decoy scheme was very successful -- I only recall a couple of stray bombs being dropped on "Manchester on the Moors" during the entire war. However, the decoy may have confused the aircraft navigators resulting in them dropping their bombs off target elsewhere. James
There are the (CWGC) headstones of a couple of members of the RDC who were killed near Crown Point by a German bomb in Burnley cemetery. Houses were also hit at the "summit" end of my street (Rossendale Road, Burnley) by a "stray" - evidence of which still exists to this day. I've some photos somewhere of this damage along with the more well known bomb damage near Bank Hall if it's of any interest. One thing that always surprised me was that Burnley was never specifically targetted by the Luftwaffe - although it recently came to light that several places (such as the railhead at Rosegrove, the Lucas factory, the aircraft works at Stoneyholme, etc) actually were regarded as targets (but only of secondary importance). Dave
.......... Houses were also hit at the "summit" end of my street (Rossendale Road, Burnley) by a "stray" - evidence of which still exists to this day. I've some photos somewhere of this damage .......... Dave Here you go, Dave: One night in early May of 1941 bombs impacted several hundred yards from my house. They landed in a field just off Manchester Road across from Oswald Tillotson's body works (at the junction of Crown Point Road and Rossendale Avenue) damaging houses that fronted on Rossendale Road. The next morning I went to the bomb drop location to see what had happened. One crater was concealed from view by a hedge row and the gate to the path across the field was being guarded by Police and Wardens who barred access to all except residents of the houses. Lo and behold, one of the guards was my uncle Jim Howarth! He let me pass with a wink (I did have a cousin who lived on Rossendale Avenue) and I was able to gather some shrapnel for souvenirs! James
The decoy sites were knwon as Starfish, whilst the decoys for airfields were known as Q Sites. A large starfish for Sheffield was created on the Derwent Moor above the dams. Unfortunately the first tiem it was used there was a full moon, the luftwaffe realised it was a decoy and flew on and blitzed Sheffield. The conditions had to be right for the starfish/Q to work.
There are the (CWGC).......... One thing that always surprised me was that Burnley was never specifically targetted by the Luftwaffe - although it recently came to light that several places (such as the railhead at Rosegrove, the Lucas factory, the aircraft works at Stoneyholme, etc) actually were regarded as targets (but only of secondary importance). Dave Yes, Dave, I think the mission of the Joseph Lucas works in Burnley -- developing and building prototype and production Jet Aircraft engines -- was kept a secure secret from the Nazis until the end of the war. The work was kept hush-hush. My father worked at the Lucas Hargher Clough works as a metallurgical Inspector throughout the war and we never knew what he was involved in -- when we asked him what he was working on he used to tell us it was classified Government work -- that was all. In the last year of the war my father got me a job as a draughtsman (draftsman) apprentice at the Joseph Lucas Wood Top works -- it was only then I found out what they were working on. Plant security was tight -- access was via a badge check at the entrance guard house. James
An interesting trivia photo I came across: Kids emerging from the School air raid shelter after the all-clear siren:
.......... what do you know about the fake village near burnley...where they built dummy houses and lit fires at night to fool the Luftwaffe ........... A general reference: Fields of Deception: Britain's Bombing Decoys of World War II by Colin Dobson ..... http://www.methuen.co.uk/titles.php/isbn/0413745708 James Pickering Web Page Portal http://jp29.org/ WW2 British Homefront http://jp29.org/2dr.htm Accessible to People with Disabilities
